


Why Do Tabloids Even Exist

by CaraMiaKitty



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Identity Reveal, Teenage Drama, This fandom needed more Ladrien
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-18 17:36:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9395948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraMiaKitty/pseuds/CaraMiaKitty
Summary: Adrien reveals in an interview that he's madly in love with Ladybug! Marinette wishes she could be ecstatic, but unfortunately she's too much of a realist to enjoy it. Now she has to figure out how on Earth she's supposed to turn Adrien down when she's totally in love with him.





	1. Tabloids Suck But Especially When They're Telling The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfiction in a really long time that's actually getting published anywhere, so I guess be gentle? I like constructive criticism but only if it's actually, you know. Constructive. 
> 
> Full disclosure it was not read by anyone for any sort of review and revising prior to being published.
> 
> This fandom has been driving me insane with how cute it is. But I noticed a serious lack of Ladrien fanfics, which makes no sense to me because it's the easiest corner of the love square to start in, considering it's the only corner where both sides know they have feelings for the other, if that makes sense? Marinette/Ladybug doesn't know she has a crush on Chat, Adrien/Chat doesn't know he has a crush on Marinette. But Ladybug knows she likes Adrien, and Adrien knows he likes Ladybug! It's perfect! 
> 
> Except the part where Ladybug is too practical and insecure to capitalize on it. But don't worry, we're working on that.

“Supermodel Adrien Agreste Confesses Love for Superheroine Ladybug!”

The headline stood out on the page, almost mockingly, the tabloid clenched in Marinette’s hands. Her teeth dug into the insides of her cheeks, biting down hard to keep from screaming in the middle of the street.

“Marinette, what’s wrong?” The voice floated up from her purse, barely audible. Large blue eyes peeked out, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had distressed Marinette so.

“Nothing,” Marinette replied through gritted teeth, her expression an almost terrifying attempt at forcing a smile.  Her eyes darted down to the kwami situated inside her purse, and Tikki frowned up at her.

“Marinette-“

“Not here, Tikki,” the girl hissed insistently. She clutched the tabloid to her chest, and tried to breathe, but it didn’t help. Tikki could hear her muttering to herself, but couldn’t make out the words. Suddenly, she inhaled sharply, then started towards the bakery, walking a little faster than normal. From her vantage inside the purse, Tikki could see that Marinette’s shoulders were hunched, her expression miserable and faintly horrified. Something must be very wrong.

The teenage girl entered the bakery and power-walked her way past her Maman, throwing a frantic greeting over her shoulder when asked if something was wrong. Once inside the house proper, she bolted for her bedroom.

As soon as she was inside, with the door securely closed, she threw herself on her chaise lounge, grabbed a pillow, and shrieked into it.

Tikki flew from her purse, coming to rest on the arm of the chaise, staring at Marinette worriedly. “Marinette, what is going on?” she asked, and received nothing in answer but another shriek.

The kwami glanced at the floor next to them, where the magazine that had prompted Marinette’s freak out had been rather unceremoniously dropped. Tikki flew towards it, gasping when she read the headline.

Well, now it made sense. Sort of. Marinette tended to freak out about anything regarding Adrien. Tikki didn’t quite understand the reaction, though.

She returned to Marinette, settling on the girl’s shoulder and patting her head gently. “Marinette, what are you feeling?” she asked. Again, her only answer was a shriek, though it was fainter this time. The teenager must be running out of steam. Tikki hummed to herself a moment, waiting patiently. Marinette would answer once she’d calmed down enough to do so.

“Me muffs Mabybub,” came an answer finally, Marinette’s face still stuffed into the pillow. A pause, and then she lifted her head slightly, turning to look at Tikki perched on her shoulder. “He loves Ladybug. Why? Why does he have to love _her_?”

Tikki frowned, head tilting curiously. “But, Marinette, you are Ladybug, isn’t that a good thing?”

“No! No it’s not a good thing! Tikki, I’m not-“ Marinette cut herself off, face dropping back down into the pillow. She took a couple breaths, exhaling slowly. She lifted her head just enough to speak clearly, and said, “I’m not like Ladybug. When I’m me. He loves her, I could never live up to that.”

Tikki sighed; this was a fairly common back and forth between them. “Marinette, you are Ladybug! Ladybug is only the things he loves because you make her those things! You’re every bit as brave and confident and-“

“But I’m not.” Marinette’s voice was defeated. “I’m clumsy, and anxious, and boring, and I talk too much about stuff no one else cares about-“

“Marinette, that’s not true!” Tikki insisted. “You are clumsy, sometimes, but every teenager is! And anxiety is normal, too! But you’re not boring, and your friends love listening to you when you get excited about things!”

Marinette looked unconvinced. “I’m only brave when I’m Ladybug because I have to be. I don’t have a choice. None of it… It’s not me. I fake it.”

Tikki shook her head. “You can’t fake that sort of thing, Marinette! Not really! If you’re brave and confident as Ladybug, it just means you could be all the time! But you let yourself worry and overthink things. You should give yourself more credit.”

The teenager sighed; she was never going to convince Tikki of anything, and Tikki was never going to convince her. They’d talked in circles about this forever. “That’s not even the point,” she said finally.

“Then what is?”

“He’s in love with Ladybug,” Marinette said. “Which means he’d never even look twice at plain Marinette. Even if he would like me, he’d never noticed me to like me!”

Tikki found she didn’t have an answer for that one; it was true. Love could blind a person to anything else.

“I’m right under his nose, Tikki. He loves Ladybug, but he looks at me and he doesn’t see it. He doesn’t know it’s me.” She made a faint grumbling noise. “How can he love someone if he doesn’t even know them when they’re right under his nose?”

“He loves the idea of Ladybug,” Tikki answered, tone wise. “He loves who he sees when you save the city, when you rescue his friends. But it’s just infatuation, Marinette. Teenagers mistake it for love all the time.”

She gave her chosen a pointed look, and pink rose in Marinette’s cheeks. She wasn’t innocent on that front, she knew. She’d spent a long time obsessing over the idea of Adrien she had in her head before she knew enough about him to say she really loved him. Now, she thought she knew him well enough to say that she loved him as much as she possibly could, given their current circumstances. Which were the ones wherein she was too nervous to talk to him, ever.

But, it didn’t really matter, she thought bitterly, if he was in love with Ladybug.

“Even if it’s not real love,” she said, “he thinks it is, right? He thinks he’s in love with her.”

Tikki shrugged. “You didn’t read the article, you know,” she pointed out. “Maybe it’s a misquote. Maybe they’re putting words into his mouth. He might’ve just said he has a crush, or admires Ladybug!”

Marinette eyed the kwami, and then conceded the point. With a small ray of hope, she grabbed the crumpled tabloid up, flipping to the appropriate page.

Ten minutes later, she found herself shrieking into the pillow again, because Adrien Agreste had, in fact, said the words “I’m in love with Ladybug.”

Soothing speculation on the part of Tikki that perhaps he was exaggerating his feelings to try and ward off fangirls was less than successful at making Marinette feel better.


	2. MAYBE LADYBUG HAS A CODE OF ETHICS HUH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the back of Adrien's head is the most offensive sight Marinette has ever seen, and Alya and Nino are competing to say the most offensive thing she's ever heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It just figures that my work would get super busy right as I decide I totally have time to actually sit down and write this!
> 
> Okay, so about the update schedule. My job is very demanding energy-wise, so I can only write when I have the brainpower to do it, which isn't always guaranteed. And I like to have a couple chapters written past what I've updated. 
> 
> So basically I'm awful and consistency is not a thing. Terribly sorry, hence why I'm giving everyone the heads up in advance. I had the first two chapters written in the same night, and the third a week ago, but I didn't finish four until today so I didn't post the second until now. 
> 
> If this is going to bother you, I'm not offended if you don't read. I'd rather have low views and kudos and write at my own pace than have people giving me anxiety about an update schedule. I'd like to contribute to the fandom, but I need the ability to do so as I am able.

Seeing Adrien the next day was awkward; sure, she was only staring at the back of his head, but she was almost certain that he could feel her staring. Okay, so she stared every day, but today she was staring differently. He could probably tell. She could feel it.

And yet, she couldn’t stop staring, because all she could think about was how he was supposedly in love with her, but didn’t know who she was. She was staring at the back of his head, and stared at the back of his head every single day, and he had no clue she was the girl he’d professed his love for.

She muttered to herself about what idiots boys were. She’d thought she was quiet about it, until she felt a pencil jab her in her arm. Glancing to the side, she met the concerned gaze of her best friend.

‘You okay?’ Alya mouthed, and Marinette nodded, then shrugged. As good as she ever was, she thought. Her best friend clearly wasn’t buying it, though, judging by her facial expression and the way she crossed her arms. Marinette sighed, knowing she was going to get interrogated about what was bothering her when the bell rang.

At least this time she could be honest. Sort of.

Sure enough, they’d no sooner been released than Alya was grabbing her arm, preventing her from escaping. “Girl, what is up with you?” she asked. “Normally you’re got heart eyes when Adrien’s within sight, today you looked like you wanted to throw something at him.”

Marinette grimaced; she hadn’t looked that bad, had she?

Pulling the magazine from her bag, she handed it to Alya, who blinked at the headline. She looked from the tabloid to Marinette and back, biting her lip, then sighed, shoulders slumping. “Daaaaang, girl.”

Marinette simply nodded, the gesture tense.

“Well,” Alya said, sounding like even she wasn’t buying whatever it was she was about to try to sell. “I mean, she’s a celebrity. I’m in love with her too, you know.” She elbowed Marinette in the ribs, obviously trying to cheer her up.

Marinette responded with a glare.

“You haven’t read the interview yet,” she said darkly. If her mood had been any fouler, she would’ve had a black cloud following after her. As it was, she was counting her lucky spots that being a Miraculous wielder made her immune to Hawkmoth. Totally off his radar.

Because seriously, how embarrassing would it be to get turned into an Akuma over Adrien confessing his love for a superhero? Especially since she was the superhero.

Glancing to her side, she noticed that Alya had her face buried in the tabloid. “Surprised you didn’t already know about this,” Marinette said dryly. “Adrien’s in love with Ladybug, it should be all over the Ladyblog by now.”

Alya made a ‘tch’ noise, waving her hand dismissively. “Figures that only your obsession with Adrien could trump mine with our resident heroine,” she said, only half paying attention. Marinette twitched. ‘Obsession.’

Well, what else would you call it?

Marinette knew the exact moment her best friend got to the part of the interview in question. She inhaled sharply, stopping dead in her tracks. If her eyes had gone any bigger, they’d have popped out, literally.

There was a long silence, and then, “… Daaaaaaaaaang, girl.”

Marinette made a face and crossed her arms, fists tight, and nodded.

“That’s pretty bad.”

“I know.”

“Like… Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan-“

“What are we ‘dangi’ing?” Nino’s voice cut Alya off, and both the girls jumped at his sudden appearance.

“Nothing-!”

“Not a thing-!”

“None of your business-!”

“It’s not important-!”

Alya and Marinette’s voices overlapped and got progressively higher pitched. Eyeing them suspiciously, Nino eventually just snatched the magazine from Alya’s hands, recognition settling in when he saw the cover.

When he gave Marinette a sympathetic look, she begged for the ground to swallow her up on the spot.

“Look, Marinette,” he said, obviously trying to soften the blow. Unfortunately, it’d hit her yesterday, so he was a little late. “I know you’ve got a thing for Adrien, but you shouldn’t get too upset about this, right? It’s not like he’s got a shot at Ladybug.”

Alya made that ‘tch’ noise again, and then, quietly, pointed out, “Heiskindofafamousmodel.”

Marinette made a strangled sound. “He-She- He does NOT have a shot with Ladybug!” she insisted, grabbing the stupid, awful, horrible piece of trash rag from Nino’s hands.

Alya looked apologetic. “Girl, you know I’m captain of the Ladynoir ship. I want her to hook up with Chat Noir like, yesterday, if they haven’t already,” a theory Alya had written several articles about, Marinette thought darkly, “buuuuut assuming they’re not an item, I dunno. Adrien Agreste might potentially be an option for her.”

Marinette made the noise again, but before she could even attempt to form a response, Nino stepped between them.

“Alya, c’mon,” he said. Marinette couldn’t tell if he sounded exasperated, or like he was pleading with her. “She’s got the whole ‘secret identity’ thing going. What, he’s gonna take her out to some nice place and she’s gonna show up in spandex?”

Alya shrugged. “It could happen.” At her best friend’s expression of utter betrayal, she tacked on, “Not that I want it to or even think it will!” She paused. “I just… I’m saying it’s not that out there. In case… Look, best guess says Ladybug’s a teenage girl. And… what teenage girl doesn’t have a crush on Adrien?”

Marinette’s eye twitched. “What are you saying?”

“Well, look,” Alya said, “If… If you were Ladybug, and you read that… wouldn’t you go for it?”

“No!” Marinette’s fists were suddenly at her side, shoulders raised, foot stomping the ground in time with her words. “I would not! Because- because…” Marinette cut herself off, not able to articulate a reason that would make sense to Alya. Not without telling her the truth.

A silence drug out between the teens, until Nino cleared his throat awkwardly. “Alright, well,” he said, shooting a glare towards Alya, “I’m kind of on team ‘Never Gonna Happen’ with this, and I’d appreciate it if certain parties didn’t go speculating and theorizing about how possible it may or may not be.”

Alya frowned. “Why not?”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Because. You guys read the article, but you haven’t- Look, I’ve heard Adrien go on about her. He’s… He needs to get over it. And he’s not going to if he’s got you insisting that it could totally be a thing.”

Alya looked irritated, but didn’t reply. Nino shrugged, waved goodbye, and continued on his way home. Marinette took advantage of her best friend’s ranting at his back to escape, taking off towards her own place before Alya realized she was gone.


End file.
